In financial year 2016-17 Bangladesh exported woven garment worth $14.39 billion. But most of the fabric for this export is being imported. Bangladesh till now is lagging behind in weaving and woven processing infrastructure. The country requires building more weaving facilities to cater to local export oriented garment industries. This will help in reducing apparel export lead time from Bangladesh. It will also save on foreign currency.

After discussing with Italy-based company Itema — one of the world's leading suppliers of quality, high-performance weaving machinery and support services to the industry — and exploring their solutions it was clear that the Itema Group could be one of the most important company for Bangladesh in providing technologically advanced weaving machinery to establish world-class weaving facilities in Bangladesh. Itema and its Bangladeshi representative Pacific Associates organised a seminar titled “Itema Innovation Roadshow in Dhaka” recently. A discussion ensued between Christian Straubhaar, Sales & Marketing Director, Itema Group and Tareq Amin, Editor & Publisher of Textile Today.

Straubhaar said Bangladesh should keep its produced shirting and clothing fabric inside for growth of its industries. He spoke about obstacles in growth path of textile industry where electricity is the big issue, and suggested Bangladesh textile mills could opt for Airjet because Itema Rapier machine need less power and it could be a great solution to this problem.

Tareq Amin of Textile Today noted factories are asking for grid electricity instead of having their own captive power. Bangladesh is a key market for Itema, the company is showing its commitment in investing even more attention, resources and energy in the country. Straubhaar advised the Bangladesh textile industry to keep costs low so that they could gain a competitive advantage. High-efficiency, advanced and sturdy machinery were the need of the day.